APRIL 2, 2020 — The looters’ trench was not small. And it definitely was not a one-man job. It stretched 4 feet wide and ran over 30 feet deep into an ancient Maya pyramid in Belize. By some miracle—or perhaps, Indiana Jones’ luck—the thieves passed just over a royal tomb with elaborate painted drinking cups used by nobility who ruled the kingdom 1,300 years ago.
“The looters missed the royal tomb by just a few centimeters,” said Jason Yaeger, the President’s Endowed Professor of Anthropology at UTSA and associate dean of the College of Liberal and Fine Arts, who leads a team of researchers with M. Kathryn Brown, the Lutcher Brown Professor of Anthropology.
Archaeologists at UTSA now have the opportunity to study the royal tomb’s precious objects. Yaeger and Brown take groups of anthropology students to Belize each summer for archaeological field work.
“The research opportunities and real-world applications that our students get working with us is priceless for them,” Yaeger said.
In July 2018 they were wrapping up their research at a site called Buenavista—the UTSA team discovered that its ancient Maya name was Komkom—when they made an exciting find.
“While excavating in the looters’ trench, one of the local men who works with us scraped his trowel across the trench’s floor. That’s where we found a layer of flint flakes,” said Yaeger.
Reading Mayan Symbols
Flint and obsidian chips were used by the Maya to symbolize the underworld, and they placed them over royal tombs. Luckily the looters didn’t know what signs to look for at the site.
This exciting discovery came too late for the team to properly document their findings. Instead, team members, including those who live in Belize, were sworn to secrecy until the following summer.
In 2019 the team, which included UTSA postdoctoral fellow Bernadette Cap, returned to carefully excavate and record the tomb. Although the skeleton they discovered was in poor condition, they found fine impressions of the textiles that had shrouded the ruler’s body, preserved in mud mortar that had dripped onto the body and hardened. Five large stone axes lay along the spine. And in an array on each side of the body the team found rows of pottery vessels, 27 in total.
The tomb had partially collapsed in antiquity, fracturing many of the vessels, but all of them were whole. What was most remarkable was the rich colors and the complexity of the designs. Maya pottery was technologically simple—they didn’t use pottery wheels or elaborate kilns—but the vibrant and intricate designs they painted on vessels testifies to the skills of Maya artists. The most elaborate were vases used for drinking chocolate concoctions during ceremonies and feasts.
“This is one of the most exciting finds for our UTSA team,” Yaeger said. “These items are priceless to us and to the government of Belize for what they will tell us about the ancient Maya.”
The two most elaborate drinking vessels depict a seated king dressed as a warrior and a supernatural snake and owl that are wahyob, beings from the underworld often associated with powerful rulers. The tomb and vases date to the Maya Late Classic period (A.D. 600–800), and they provide a window into the nature of royal authority at that time.
UTSA intends to restore the drinking vessels on behalf of the Belize government. Yaeger estimates that the entire process will take about a month. During the restoration, neutron activation analysis will be used to determine whether the vessels were made locally or were gifts from another kingdom. The team will also seek evidence of ancient residues in the vases, including precious chocolate. The knowledge obtained in these studies will help them understand how these vases were used as symbols and instruments of royal authority.
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
The UTSA Office of Undergraduate is proud to celebrate National Undergraduate Research with an annual event sponsored by the (OUR) featuring students will showcase undergraduate student research and creative endeavors from all disciplines across campus.
Various LocationsDía en la Sombrilla, formerly Fiesta UTSA, is a festival hosted each spring as a part of Fiesta® San Antonio events. Sponsored by Roadrunner Productions, the event features music, food, confetti, games, event t-shirts, and more.
Sombrilla Plaza and Central Plaza, Main CampusFiesta Arts Fair features contemporary art from more than 100 artists from across the U.S., Fiesta favorite foods, drinks, live music by local and regional performers, and a Young Artists Garden providing opportunities for budding artists to learn, explore and express their creativity.
UTSA Southwest CampusJoin the PEACE Center and Wellbeing Services for Denim Day, a day of learning about the importance of consent and why we wear denim on the last Wednesday of the month each April during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Stop by our Denim Day display to take a photo in front of our Denim Wall, spin the "Is It Consent?" Wheel, and get a Concha or goodie.
Student Union Window Lounge, Main CampusLearn to use Zotero®, a citation manager that can help you store and organize citations you find during your research. Zotero can generate bibliographies in various styles, insert in-text citations and allow you to share sources with collaborators.
Virtual EventThis event is to achnowlege the graduating seniors and induct the new cohart of scholars to our program.
North Paseo Building (NPB 5.140,) Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
AlamodomeThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.